The Oromia Media Network (OMN) is an Oromo news channel headquartered in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, U.S.. OMN is established as a non-profit independent media outlet 501(c)(3) organization, licensed under the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...

funded by public donors from the broader Oromo diaspora.

History

Jawar Mohammed Jawar Mohammed ( om, Jawaar Mahammad; born 12 May 1986) is an Ethiopian political analyst and activist. One of the founders of the Oromia Media Network (OMN), Jawar was a leading organizer of the 2014–2016 Oromo protests. He has been credited ...

established the OMN following a movement which he called "Oromo first". The "Oromo first” movement later grew into a political campaign, raising funds to establish the satellite TV station, launched 2013, along with Facebook and Twitter accounts using the brand Oromia Media Network (OMN). During the launch, Jawar Mohammed was appointed as an Executive Director. OMN was inaugurated on 1 March 2014. Jawar in his inaugural speech said "We've now liberated the airwaves of

Oromia Oromia (Amharic: ) ( om, Oromiyaa) is a regional state in Ethiopia and the homeland of the Oromo people. The capital of Oromia is Addis Ababa. It is bordered by the Somali Region to the east; the Amhara Region, the Afar Region and the Benish ...

. We will liberate the land in the coming years." On 1 January 2020, Jawar stepped down from his position on at OMN to join the

Oromo Federalist Congress The Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC) (, KFO; is a political party based in Ethiopia that was created in 2012 from the merger of the Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement and Oromo People's Congress. Creation In July 2012, Oromo Federalist Democrat ...

and has since been replaced by Girma Gutama. OMN grew to become an influential voice of the youth, known as

Qeerroo Ethiopia's National Youth Movement for Freedom and Democracy, popularly known as Qeerroo, is a social movement organized with ideology of Oromo nationalism in Ethiopia. In traditional Oromo culture the term means "bachelor" or youth but within th ...

, a label which was created in 1990s the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). OMN and ESAT were both targeted by the Ethiopian government which used Spywares to target journalists working for the stations. The OMN is one of the media outlets which broadcast to Ethiopian audiences from abroad, along with the

ESAT Ethiopian Satellite Television (ESAT) is an Ethiopian satellite news network headquartered in Washington D.C., United States. It is a nonprofit and independent media outlet mostly privately funded by donors from the broader Ethiopian diaspora. ...

. After the drop of charges against the OMN and its executive director on 29 May 2018, the inauguration of the Addis Ababa office was held in the presence of Oromia Regional State Chief Administrator Lemma Megersa at the Millennium Hall on 5 July 2018. Lemma in his inaugural speech said "OMN has played a big role in bringing tangible change in the regional state." In June 2020, following the death of

Hachalu Hundessa Hachalu Hundessa ( om, Haacaaluu Hundeessaa Boonsaa; am, ሃጫሉ ሁንዴሳ; 1986 – 29 June 2020) was an Ethiopian singer, songwriter, and civil rights activist. Hachalu played a significant role in the 2014–2016 Oromo protests that l ...

Hachalu Hundessa riots The Hachalu Hundessa riots were a series of civil unrest that occurred in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia, more specifically in the hot spot of Addis Ababa, Shashamene and Ambo following the killing of the Oromo musician Hachalu Hundessa on 29 ...

reignited Oromo protests.

was then arrested on 30 June 2020, in

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...

. OMN’s local office was raided by federal security agents and detained several journalists. Hachalu gave an interview to the Oromia Media Network (OMN), which had sparked outrage on social media, a week before his murder. The interview was aired with live stream on

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

, which peaked 24 thousands viewers.

Programming

Most of the its contents from Ethiopia, but also covers some international news. The majority of broadcasts are in one of the federal language of Ethiopia in Oromo with some programs in

Amharic Amharic ( or ; (Amharic: ), ', ) is an Ethiopian Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amharas, and also serves as a lingua franca for all oth ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. It has studios located in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

and

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

References

{{reflist

External links

Official OMN Facebook

Official OMN website
Television in Ethiopia Television channels and stations established in 2013 Television networks Television stations in Minneapolis–Saint Paul Oromo language